Soarin’ Meet, a Kitchen Sink and showing off our Pirate Rooms

We needed to get up early, since we wanted to take part of the Soarin’ Meet, that was organized by members of the Tagrel group. So we just had a few Oreo cookies and some Coke and headed out the door by 8.30.

We were at Epcot before rope drop and were amazed by the amount of people who were already in line to get in. Once we were inside the park we headed to over to Test Track to pick up some fastpass tickets. We spotted Dave (from Tagrel) at the machines as well and with tickets in hand Tom and I walked over to The Land Pavillion. Meeting point was in front of Garden Grill and there were already some people there, so we introduced ourselves and joined in the fun.

After a little chit-chat we all got in line for Soarin’. It took about 20 minutes until we were at the front of the line.We were all on the same glider and it was so much fun to ride together. After the ride we spent a little more time taking photos and then we all split up again to have some fun around the World Showcase. Tom and I went to ride Test Track and Mission Space and shortly after 11am we went to World Showcase to share a counter service meal.

We had a Burrito that came with rice and refried black beans. It was actually very nice. For dessert we got a Churro, which appeared to be a leftover from the day before. It was dry and hard. Right when we had finished our meal, Mary Ellen called to let us know that they had arrived at Epcot and were now heading towards The Land Pavillion to pick up fastpasses for Soarin’. So Tom and I walked over and found Mary Ellen waiting for her brother and family.

They had been the lucky receivers of DVC fastpasses and were riding Soarin’. It didn’t take long until they were back and we all decided to get something to eat at Sunshine Seasons. Since Tom and I had just had some Mexican food, we decided to just get a snack each. Tom had Sushi, the Full Moon Combo, which he liked very much. I tried one of their pastries, the Asian Chocolate Cake. Once we had finished our meal we walked over to the Nemo Ride, which was really relaxing.We did a few more rides before we decided it was time to leave Epcot via the International Gateway and walk over to the Beach Club Resort for a Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream. 

The Kitchen Sink is a tradition for Mary Ellen, Joe, Tom and me and Joe signed all of us in and we were told it would be at least 50 minutes until it was our turn, so we went to check out the resorts. After 45 minutes our beeper went off, so we went back to Beaches and Cream and were seated at two round tables, which they had pushed together. We knew what we all wanted, a Kitchen Sink to share and some water and Joe didn’t want to join us for the Kitchen Sink, so he went for a Hot Fudge Sundae.

It was fun to watch the faces of Vinny, Susan and Olivia when they brought out our Kitchen Sink and we had so much fun digging into it. But even though we were 6 people attacking it, we were not able to finish it. We then slowly walked back to Epcot and rode a few more rides and Mission Space together. Unfortunately it made Susan really sick. So they ended up sitting in Innoventions and let us use their Soarin’ Fastpasses. Once we had been on Soarin’ and headed back with Susan and family.

Thank god,  she had recovered and we were all good to go. The wait for Spaceship Earth was pretty short so we went on that as well before we all headed out of the park. Mary Ellen, Joe, Vinny and family all rode the Monorail back to the Ticket and Transportation Center and then went on the Resort Monorail to the Contemporary Hotel, while Tom and I drove over and parked right there at the Contemporary.

We could not believe it that we had beat them to it!

We had a dinner ADR at The Wave and waited for them in the lobby. Once they had arrived we signed in and were asked to wait in one of their lounges. It did not take long and we were led into the dining room. We were seated in one of the booths that line the side of the restaurant. Everyone was handed a menu and soon after a server came by to take our drinks orders. Tom and I decided to share the Lump Crab Cake, pan-seared with crispy Papaya slaw and balsamic glaze. Most everybody followed our example, and for the main course as well. We both had the Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Cabernet Jus, White Bean Mash, and Locally Grown Teardrop Tomatoes. All of us enjoyed our dinner and kept on having fun. For dessert Tom ordered the Decadent Flavors, Blueberry Compote with Yogurt Gelato, Lemon Cornbread with Vanilla Panna Cotta, Chocolate Mousse with Salted Caramel Sauce.

I ordered the Creamy Indulgence, Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis, Coconut Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Drizzle, Chocolate-Passion Fruit Mousse with Pecan-Olive Brittle. Tom ordered an Espresso to go with his dessert and I ordered the absolutely wonderful Lavender Infused Earl Grey tea. We were all stuffed, so it took a while to finish our desserts and finally make our way out of the restaurant. We strolled through the Contemporary for a while, before we went out on the 4th floor platform to watch Wishes. It was a first time for Vinny, Susan and Olivia from that spot and they really loved it.

Once the fireworks were over Tom drove Susan, Olivia, Mary Ellen and me over to the Caribbean Beach Resort, so they could have a look at our Pirate Rooms. Joe and Vinny had to take the bus. It took them quite some time to arrive at the resort. In the meantime we all had some wine and a few cookies and we shared a lot of laughs until the boys arrived. We all had a lot of fun together until around midnight. Tom drove Vinny, Susan and Olivia over to the Pop Century, while I did the rest of the packing. We needed to be up early the next day, we had a cruise ship to catch.